161 |
Laser distance and altitude measuring apparatus |
US465764 |
1990-01-16 |
US4978221A |
1990-12-18 |
Gunther Sepp |
Two laser distance measuring functions are preformed on board of a ground-hugging cruise missile by at least one laser distance meter for taking downwardly directed altitude measurements and diagonally or slantedly forwardly directed distance measurements for producing corrected altitude signals for use in controlling the flight of the missile. Both types of measurements can be made by one laser distance meter that is tiltable in the required direction or two laser units are provided. The correction provides a clear recognition of artificial fog by evaluating both types of measured values in an intelligent signal processing unit which compares the intensities of the measured values from the same ground locations, determines the extinction coefficient of the fog and takes the angular distribution of the back-scattering intensity of the laser beams into consideration for correcting the altimeter readings. |
162 |
Injection controlled laser transmitter with twin local oscillators |
US704816 |
1985-02-25 |
US4655588A |
1987-04-07 |
Peter P. Chenausky; William J. Green, Jr. |
A heterodyne CO.sub.2 optical Doppler radar comprising a ring type of traitter laser and twin local oscillator lasers which are automatically controlled to operate at a difference frequency equal to the intermediate frequency of the radar, which may be in the VHF band. The output of one of the twin lasers is injected into the transmitter laser for stabilization purposes and the output of the other of the twin lasers is heterodyned with the received target return signals to form the radar's intermediate frequency signal. |
163 |
Moving target indicator system utilizing charge coupled device |
US9988 |
1979-02-05 |
US4301471A |
1981-11-17 |
Donald J. Holscher; Donald E. French |
A time change or moving target indication system utilizing charge-coupled devices (CCD's) for signal processing in which successive integrated samples from individual detectors are loaded into adjacent CCD storage buckets and then clocked to an output device. The output device is any suitable differencing arrangement which samples the charge stored in adjacent buckets and gives an output proportional to the difference. The system of the invention allows the successive signals from individual detectors to pass through virtually identical elements in the signal processing chain so as to reduce the effects of transfer inefficiency on the accuracy of the MTI subtraction process. Further, the signal spectrum from an individual detector output may be shifted to higher frequencies during the readout process so as to reduce the effects of any 1/f noise that may be present in the output device. The concept, in accordance with the invention, may be implemented off the focal plane as well as on the focal plane and may be implemented for a single row of detectors or for a detector array. In the off-focal plane configuration in accordance with the invention, the detectors are sampled at a rate much higher than the system field time to provide a high signal bandwidth which permits additional signal processing such as noise spike suppression and background subtraction to be performed before subsequently integrating the samples from individual detectors over the desired field time. |
164 |
Hand-holdable laser system computer |
US576486 |
1975-05-12 |
US3986002A |
1976-10-12 |
Dorian A. DeMaio |
A laser system computer in the preferred form of a hand-holdable, two-sided circular slide rule, for quickly and accurately solving a wide range of problems which are associated with laser radar, designation, communications and directed energy applications, the solution of which said problems could not be attained with prior art slide rules of any type. Calculations relating to the design, analysis and performance of lasers are performed on one side of the calculator. Atmospheric effects, such as attenuation and turbulence beam spreading, are computed on the other side of the calculator. Both continuous wave and pulsed lasers can be calculated with the use of this unique computer, which also may be used for ground, air and space laser applications. Structurally, the preferred embodiment is in the form of a circular slide rule having: a circular stator (i.e., base) with a front face and a rear face; a plurality of concentric discs (i.e., slides) of varying diameters shorter than that of the stator and in superposed relationship to, and with, each other and the stator, a removable, centrally located pivot connecting the concentric discs to each other and to the stator, whereby the discs are independently rotatable (i.e., revolvable) about and on the pivot; and, a transparent cursor (i.e., indicator) removably attached to, and revolvable around, the pivot and having a hairline (i.e., index line) thereon. In addition to its specialized function, this unique computer is multi-purpose and can be used to perform conventional mathematical calculations. |
165 |
ADJUSTABLE BEAM PATTERN FOR LIDAR SENSOR |
US16035862 |
2018-07-16 |
US20180329067A1 |
2018-11-15 |
Scott Boehmke |
A LIDAR sensor for an autonomous vehicle (AV) can include a set of mirrors and a set of lasers outputting laser beams via the set of mirrors. The LIDAR sensor can further include one or more mirror actuators to adjust the set of mirrors, in response to AV feedback from the AV, to reconfigure a beam pattern of the outputted lasers. |
166 |
LASER RANGING DEVICE AND AUTOMATIC CLEANING DEVICE |
US16023178 |
2018-06-29 |
US20180306606A1 |
2018-10-25 |
Yunpeng WAN; Yongfeng XIA |
The present disclosure relates to a laser ranging device. The laser ranging device includes an encoded chassis, a rotary disc, a first barrier ring on the rotary disc and/or a second barrier ring on the encoded chassis. The encoded chassis includes a rotary bin and a plurality of ranging teeth disposed at intervals on the periphery of the rotary bin. The rotary disc is mounted within the encoded chassis and is rotatable within the rotary bin when the rotary disc is driven. The first barrier ring is disposed at the edge of the bottom surface of the rotary disc and the second barrier ring is disposed at the periphery of the ranging teeth, and the first barrier ring is located at the periphery of the ranging teeth after the rotary disc is mounted to the encoded chassis. |
167 |
Reduction in camera to camera interference in depth measurements using spread spectrum |
US14722838 |
2015-05-27 |
US09945936B2 |
2018-04-17 |
Amir Nevet |
Reduction in interference between different time of flight (ToF) cameras used for depth measurements and operating in the same application environment is achieved using a spread spectrum technique in which the cyclical operations of a pulsed light source such as a laser or light emitting diode (LED) and gated image sensor are varied in a pseudo-random manner in each camera. In an alternative embodiment, spread spectrum logic is applied in a ToF camera that employs phase modulation techniques. |
168 |
Range enhancement for LIDAR system and IR camera systems |
US14552206 |
2014-11-24 |
US09921297B2 |
2018-03-20 |
Doug R Jungwirth |
A system includes a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) device. The system further includes a LIDAR target. The LIDAR device is configured to direct a light beam at the LIDAR target. The system also includes a retro-reflective material in contact with the LIDAR target. |
169 |
Time of flight sensor binning |
US14853194 |
2015-09-14 |
US09784822B2 |
2017-10-10 |
Werner Adam Metz; Dong-Ik Ko |
A time-of-flight sensor device generates and analyzes a high-resolution depth map frame from a high-resolution image to determine a mode of operation for the time-of-flight sensor and an illuminator and to control the time-of-flight sensor and illuminator according to the mode of operation. A binned depth map frame can be created from a binned image from the time-of-flight sensor and combined with the high-resolution depth map frame to create a compensated depth map frame. |
170 |
OPTOELECTRONIC SENSOR |
US15398413 |
2017-01-04 |
US20170201252A1 |
2017-07-13 |
Fabian JACHMANN |
The invention relates to an optoelectronic sensor for monitoring a monitored zone. The sensor comprises a main light transmitter for transmitting sensing light signals that propagate through a protective screen into the monitored zone; a main light receiver for receiving light that emanates from the monitored zone; and a control unit for controlling the sensor. The sensor is configured in this respect to carry out a contamination recognition in which the degree of contamination of the protective screen is determined by means of a measured contamination value. The sensor in accordance with the invention is characterized in that the control unit is adapted to recognize the approach of a hand and/or of a finger toward the protective screen with reference to the contamination recognition and to output an action signal on the recognition of the hand and/or of the finger. |
171 |
Method for determining a change in distance to a movable and reflective target by means of interferometer to determine if the movement of the reflective target is really executable |
US14382264 |
2013-02-28 |
US09638519B2 |
2017-05-02 |
Tomasz Kwiatkowski; Thomas Lüthi |
Embodiments of the invention relate to a method for determining a change in distance to a moving and reflective target. Embodiments of the invention can be performed by means of interferometry and may include the generation of laser radiation, the emission of the measurement radiation to the target, and the detection of at least part of the measurement radiation reflected at the target. In some embodiments, a superposition of the reflected measurement radiation with the reference radiation is generated and detected, an interferometer output variable is derived on the basis of the detected superposition, and/or a time-resolved output variable curve is produced from the derived interferometer output variable. In some embodiments, the output variable curve is continually checked in that the output variable curve is continually read out in a time-resolved manner. |
172 |
Sub-resolution optical detection |
US14595369 |
2015-01-13 |
US09523771B2 |
2016-12-20 |
Nitay Romano; Nadav Grossinger; Emil Alon; Yair Alpern |
A detector for optical detection of location within a volume, comprises a beam source for shining a structured light pattern on the volume and a digital detector having detection pixels of a given size. The light pattern, when shone into the volume and reflected back to the detection pixels, has a brightness distribution with a peak and a surrounding brightness structure. Now often the peak may be smaller than the pixel size although the overall distribution of the brightness extends over multiple pixels. The system includes an electronic processor for assessing a distribution of brightness among the neighboring pixels to infer a location of the peak within a region smaller than the size of the central pixel on which it falls, thus giving sub-pixel resolution. |
173 |
Measurement system having air temperature compensation between a target and a laser tracker |
US14510259 |
2014-10-09 |
US09482755B2 |
2016-11-01 |
Peter G. Cramer; Robert E. Bridges; Nils P. Steffensen; Robert C. Mehler; Kenneth Steffey; John M. Hoffer; Daniel G. Lasley |
A target is provided having a retroreflector. A body is provided having a spherical exterior portion, the body containing a cavity. The cavity is sized to hold the retroreflector, the cavity open to the exterior of the body and having at least one surface opposite the opening, the retroreflector at least partially disposed in the cavity, wherein the retroreflector and at least one surface define a space therebetween. A transmitter is configured to emit an electromagnetic signal. A first actuator is configured to initiate emission of the electromagnetic signal, wherein the transmitter and the first actuator are affixed to the body. |
174 |
Target apparatus for three-dimensional measurement system |
US13832658 |
2013-03-15 |
US09453913B2 |
2016-09-27 |
Peter G. Cramer; Robert E. Bridges; Nils P. Steffensen; Robert C. Mehler; Kenneth Steffey; John M. Hoffer, Jr.; Daniel G. Lasley |
A target is provided having a retroreflector. A body is provided having a spherical exterior portion, the body containing a cavity. The cavity is sized to hold the retroreflector, the cavity open to the exterior of the body and having at least one surface opposite the opening, the retroreflector at least partially disposed in the cavity, wherein the retroreflector and at least one surface define a space therebetween. A transmitter is configured to emit an electromagnetic signal. A first actuator is configured to initiate emission of the electromagnetic signal, wherein the transmitter and the first actuator are affixed to the body. |
175 |
MARKINGS ON GLASS CUBE-CORNER RETROREFLECTOR AND METHOD OF MEASURING RETROREFLECTOR ORIENTATION |
US14750113 |
2015-06-25 |
US20150331159A1 |
2015-11-19 |
Robert E. Bridges; Lawrence B. Brown |
A retroreflector includes a glass prism having three mutually perpendicular planar reflecting faces and a front face, the three reflecting faces intersecting in intersecting lines each having a mark, the front surface including three marks, each of the marks on the intersecting lines and the front surface having a different angle in a 2D image obtained a camera for any angle of an optical axis of the camera from 0 to 45 degree relative to a vector normal of the front face. |
176 |
SUB-RESOLUTION OPTICAL DETECTION |
US14595369 |
2015-01-13 |
US20150198716A1 |
2015-07-16 |
Nitay ROMANO; Nadav GROSSINGER; Emil ALON; Yair ALPERN |
A detector for optical detection of location within a volume, comprises a beam source for shining a structured light pattern on the volume and a digital detector having detection pixels of a given size. The light pattern, when shone into the volume and reflected back to the detection pixels, has a brightness distribution with a peak and a surrounding brightness structure. Now often the peak may be smaller than the pixel size although the overall distribution of the brightness extends over multiple pixels. The system includes an electronic processor for assessing a distribution of brightness among the neighbouring pixels to infer a location of the peak within a region smaller than the size of the central pixel on which it falls, thus giving sub-pixel resolution. |
177 |
Laser radar device, safe landing sensor for planetfall, docking sensor for space apparatus, space debris collection sensor, and vehicle-mounted collision avoidance sensor |
US14236792 |
2011-11-15 |
US09001313B2 |
2015-04-07 |
Shumpei Kameyama; Masaharu Imaki; Nobuki Kotake; Hidenobu Tsuji; Hideaki Ochimizu; Mikio Takabayashi; Yoshihito Hirano |
A laser radar device includes: a pulse laser that outputs transmission light to a target; an transmission optical system that makes the transmission light at a predetermined beam spread angle; a light-receiving element array that receives scattered light from the target and converts the light to an electric signal; an electric circuit array that detects a reception intensity and a reception time from the electric signal; a range/three-dimensional shape output unit that measures a range to the target or a three-dimensional shape of the target on the basis of the reception time; a determination unit that determines whether the beam spread angle is changed or not on the basis of the reception intensity and the reception time; and a control unit that changes the beam spread angle on the basis of a determination result. |
178 |
METHOD FOR DETERMINING A CHANGE IN DISTANCE BY MEANS OF INTERFEROMETRY |
US14382264 |
2013-02-28 |
US20150043007A1 |
2015-02-12 |
Tomasz Kwiatkowski; Thomas Lüthi |
Embodiments of the invention relate to a method for determining a change in distance to a moving and reflective target. Embodiments of the invention can be performed by means of interferometry and may include the generation of laser radiation, the emission of the measurement radiation to the target, and the detection of at least part of the measurement radiation reflected at the target. In some embodiments, a superposition of the reflected measurement radiation with the reference radiation is generated and detected, an interferometer output variable is derived on the basis of the detected superposition, and/or a time-resolved output variable curve is produced from the derived interferometer output variable. In some embodiments, the output variable curve is continually checked in that the output variable curve is continually read out in a time-resolved manner. |
179 |
Position adjustment assistance system for transportation machine |
US14008230 |
2012-03-27 |
US08862390B2 |
2014-10-14 |
Kazuhiro Sugawara; Hiroshi Ogura; Katsuaki Tanaka; Teruo Nakamura |
To advance a dump truck quickly and smoothly to a position where target loading work will be performed relative to an excavating machine, the dump truck is placed in loading target position relative to the excavating machine. Geographic position is detected from GPS satellites of a GPS receiver of the dump truck. The position and direction of the geographic position is transmitted to the excavating machine as a target position image. The target position image and an approach route leading to the position are displayed on a dump truck display when the truck thereafter approaches the position. The dump truck thereafter approaches the position, and the truck is driven so that a current position image advances along the approach route to the target position image, whereby the dump truck is placed in the set loading image target position. |
180 |
Method and system for determination of detection probability of a target object based on a range |
US13754091 |
2013-01-30 |
US08738324B2 |
2014-05-27 |
Jerry G Brown |
A simulation system for predicting a likelihood of whether a target object positioned in an environment will be detected by a detection system when illuminated by a laser source. The simulation system may be used for a laser rangefinder application and a laser designator application. The simulation system may provide a detection probability of the target object at a specified range to the detection system or a plurality of detection probabilities as a function of the range to the detection system. The simulation system may provide an indication of an overlap of the beam provided by the laser source on the target object. The simulation system may determine the effect of vibration on the detection of the target object at a specified range. |